The First Lorelei
by marianna
Summary: Lorelei never ran away with Rory, in fact she left Rory to her parents of all people for 14 years! Now she's back to claim what's hers...
1. The first Lorelei

Lorelei "Rory" Gilmore had never known her mother. After being abandoned to her grandparents at the age of 2, 16-year-old Rory still wistfully wondered about the woman who had brought her into the world. There were whispers of course, some of the upstairs maids had been around when wild Lorelei Gilmore had lived in the house, and so of course Rory had heard all the stories. She hadn't told her grandmother of course, and so whenever a question _did_ slip out about the elusive Lorelei, she pretended to not know anything about the circumstances of her birth. This arrangement worked perfectly until the day when our story begins.

"Grandma?" Rory called, slamming the door behind her with her backpack, and attempting to walk without dropping _all_ of her things on the floor. She blushed slightly- thinking about the horrible incident that had happened that morning in the hallway with Tristan DuGrey. What a _jerk_ he was!

"Glad to see you've at least got _some_ of my character traits." A voice said from behind her, and Rory nearly jumped a foot. She dropped her things all over the floor, and crouched down immediately to pick them up. Slowly she turned around and looked into a pair of eyes that matched her own.

"W-who are you?" Rory asked breathlessly, knowing without being told that _this_ was she. The elusive Lorelei. The woman smiled, and tucked a lock of long black hair behind her ear. "M-mom?" The whisper slipped out so quickly Rory didn't know where it came from. An instant later she was hugging the woman with all her might, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Well if I'd that I would have gotten this kind of homecoming, I would have come back sooner." She replied, returning the hug awkwardly. Rory loosened her grip only to look up at her, tears streaming down her cheeks. This was how Emily found them a few minutes later, when she came to see what had taken Rory so long.

"Nice to see you haven't changed your locks in 14 years, Mom." Lorelei quipped, loosening her arms on Rory, but only enough to guide the silently stunned girl to the settee in the living room. Rory looked up only once, and blinked back down to her hands folded in her lap. Emily had aged 10 years in the 5 minutes since she'd walked in on them.

"L-Lorelei." There was no malice or dripping cynicism coming from her, only shock, and Lorelei stifled a snort. Emily only started at her daughter for a moment, any words she'd had prepared for this moment, gone. "You're back permanently, I assume?" She asked, swallowing twice, and avoiding looking directly at Lorelei. Her errant daughter smiled back brightly, and patted Rory on the shoulders.

"I came to get Rory, and then I'll be out of your life forever. Quick, easy, painless. You won't even have my butt imprints on this couch." Emily nearly dropped the glass of Perrier she had poured herself.

"T-take Rory?" She stammered, looking at the girls on the couch, marveling in shock at how together they looked, despite this being their first meeting in 14 years. "You cannot _take_ Rory, Lorelei." She said in her normal voice, attempting to get some leverage in the conversation. "She has school. She has college to think about. You cannot just _uproot_ her. Maybe some _weekends_, but she has voice, and dance, and piano lessons, along with Italian and Greek lessons every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I'm sorry." Emily looked proud of her answer, and it looked as though Lorelei might consent, but she burst out laughing.

"Mom, I'm not _asking_ you. I'm telling you. I'm taking my kid. Because she is _my_ kid." Emily felt herself losing control, losing balance, and she grabbed the back of the couch for support, her mind spinning.

"Lorelei, be reasonable now. You left Rory in our care. We have done the best we possibly we could have. You cannot just come back now, 14 years later, and expect the two of you to gallop away into the sunset." Lorelei looked down at her daughter, who was looking in between the two women like a deer caught in headlights. Emily's eyes caught onto hers, and forced her to keep them there. "Rory," Emily pleaded. "Do you really want to _go_ with this woman?" She scoffed, hoping against hope that neither of the two could detect the fear on her voice, Rory bit her lip, and Emily was almost certain she had her. There was no question that she loved her daughter, but this little girl, this pure and simple angelic child could not leave. She was their last hope at greatness.

"It wouldn't be for _long_, Grandma," Rory was saying, and the words cut through Emily's reverie like a knife. "Just for a little while, so I could get to know Mom. And then I would come back. Just like normal. If mom has a place near here, I wouldn't even have to miss any classes. And even if I do, I haven't missed any before, and I'm sure Paris or Louise could take notes for me." Emily was losing her grip on the couch. Rory _could not_ leave. Lorelei would only break her heart, and she would never be the same. Lorelei affectionately squeezed her daughter's shoulders.

"I do have a place around here as a matter of fact, babes. It's in a town called Star's Hollow." _Oh no_, Emily thought, praying with every fiber in her being that Lorelei would not tell her daughter how long she had been living there. Rory's brow furrowed.

"Star's Hollow? Why does that seem familiar?" Rory was asking as Emily lost her balance completely and fainted dead on the floor.

"Grandma? Grandma?" Emily opened her eyes to Rory's beautiful baby blues, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Rory I had the most terrible dream," Emily said sitting up, with her hand on her chest. She let out a small, lady like laugh and then noticed the small mountain of luggage in front of the door. "Rory…" She said, her voice and hands shaking. "Rory, what are those?" The room was spinning again, and the spinning only increased when her only daughter entered the room at Rory's anguished cry.

"Mom she's shaking again!"


	2. Sooner Than You Think

Lorelei was at her mother's side in an instant, wetting her forehead with a cool washcloth, and putting a glass with a splash of ammonia under her nose. Emily had regained consciousness within seconds. "Grandma, are you Ok?" Rory was asking, holding Emily's head in her lap like a baby's. The older woman let a few quick breaths out, and tried to sit up without losing her balance.

"I am fine, Rory." She hissed, motioning for her grand daughter to come closer. "Your grandfather and I have done everything for you and this is how you repay us? By gallivanting away with your _mother_? _Lorelei_ of all people." Rory blinked back tears, but helped her grandmother to her feet.

"She's my mom, grandma. And I'm not _leaving_ you. I just want to get to know her better. Then I'll be back, I _promise_." Emily shook her head, looking out into the courtyard where Lorelei stood with the flannel clad man, loading Rory's possessions into the back of a truck. She closed her eyes, holding onto Rory's shoulder for support.

"If you're not leaving forever, then why, Rory are you taking all of your things? The nerve of your mother, packing them when I was defenseless." She slowly seated herself on the couch, and closed her eyes.

"Grandma, they were already packed." Emily's eyes flew open, and the color drained from her face.

"What?" She spat, fire burning in her eyes, and Rory recoiled, taking a step backward and nearly tripping over the coffee table.

"For the retreat, remember? In _Washington_? That's going to last all summer that I don't want to go on, that can in no way better my performance at Chilton because I've already taken all the classes it's offering? The one you're sending me on because of no reason other than that Cadence Longwellow has to go, and her mother is on the Reforms Board with you, and you wanted me to be friends so you can confirm her _vote_?" Emily was taken aback. The child had never spoken to her like this before. She inwardly cringed. This was all Lorelei's doing. If she hadn't come back, Rory would have continued living happily… they had a nice little family, didn't they? She had always _assumed_ Rory was happy…

"Rory, I will not accept this behavior from you, do you understand me? How dare you speak to me in that manner! Where are the manners we taught you, young lady?" Without giving Rory a chance to respond, Lorelei blew back into the house, a smile on her lips.

"Alright kid, are you ready for the greatest adventure of your life?" Emily discreetly shot a glance at Rory, the pain in her heart deepening as she saw the excitement that had rosily colored Rory's cheeks. She nodded, and practically jumped to her feet. She was halfway out the room when she stopped and turned back to face her grandmother. She fell to her knees and held Emily's hand in her own.

"Grandma, I love you and Grandpa more than anything. You _know_ this. And I mean, I don't even _know_ mom. I might hate it with her. And then I'll be back quicker than you think." She looked towards the door where Lorelei and the flannel man stood arguing over the placement of her bags. "I just… don't want you to be mad at mom, Ok? I want us to be a family." She leaned up and kissed her grandmother's cheek. Then stood, and started for the hallway. She wasn't a few inches out the door when Emily called her back.

"Rory?"

"Yeah, Grandma?"

"We love you too." Rory smiled, and then ran out of the house. Tears threatened in Emily's eyes, and she blinked them away, standing as soon as she was certain that they were gone.


	3. Welcome Home, Baby

"Hi there." Rory looked up into the warm brown eyes of the man who was unloading her things from the back of what she'd assumed was his truck. They hadn't spoken much during the ride from Hartford as Rory had been looking all around, and taking in the sights. She'd chattered nervously about having been all over the world, but how she'd never even seen Connecticut. Lorelei had humored her.

"Hi," she replied nervously, playing with her uniform's jacket. There had been such a rush to leave Hartford that she'd forgotten to change.

"I'm Luke. I don't know if you caught that..." Rory nodded and smiled, wondering why he was still standing here talking to her while all of her things were already out of the truck.

"I'm Rory." She replied automatically, sticking out her hand and giggling nervously at herself. Of course he knew who she was. Even if he was just the moving man, her mom seemed to be quite a talker, and her name must have slipped out during the 45-minute trip to Hartford. "So do you live around here?" She asked awkwardly, not sure if her etiquette lessons had taught her how to converse with strange moving men. Luke laughed a little, but before he could reply Lorelei came out onto the porch and motioned them both into the house. Rory reached to grab her bags, but Luke gently pushed her hand away, and picked up her things effortlessly. "Come on!" Luke said egging her on with a grin, and Rory ran into the house behind him, laughing all the way.

"I'm so glad to see my two favorite people getting along." Lorelei said, a grin in her voice twenty minutes later. Rory looked up from the cup of coffee she was pouring and grinned puzzledly at her mother. Lorelei walked to Luke, and slipped her arms around his waist. As Rory looked away uncomfortably Luke stiffened and gestured towards Rory. "Hon," Lorelei called, and Rory stopped her pouring and looked at her mother. Lorelei was smiling adoringly at Luke, and motioning for her to join them. Rory felt her stomach drop to her shoes. They were already a family; they didn't need a daughter interfering with their happiness. _Why had her mom even come to _get_ her_?

"Ror, I know this whole day has been one shock after another, but this is it. I promise. This is Luke. My fiancé. We live together. But he has an apartment above his diner, and he can stay there for a few nights, until you get adjusted..." Get _adjusted_...? Rory wanted to scream. _First_, she met her mother after being 14 years away from her, then she left her home, friends, _grandparents,_ for the woman everyone said would break her heart.

"I need-I need to go lay down. Is there somewhere... I could... I could do that?" Lorelei's face contorted with pain for barely a second, but Luke saw it, and rubbed her shoulder comfortingly. She bit her lip, and put her arm around Rory's shoulders leading her towards the door right off of the kitchen.

"This is your room. I mean, it doesn't have to be, if you don't want it, but this is the room I always hoped would be yours, if you were to come live with us." Tears filled her eyes. They had a _room_ for her? How long had they been here that they had a room for her? There were so _many_ questions, and she was so tired... they would talk in the morning. She turned, and gave Lorelei the biggest hug she could-trying to express with the motion how much she loved the woman who had rescued her. Lorelei hugged her back, everything in her mind screaming that this was right. Luke stood next to Lorelei, his hand patting Rory's shoulder awkwardly. She flew from her mother's arms, to Luke's providing him with a bone-crushing hug. Luke hugged her back without resolve.

"I know that we're just getting to know each other, but I want you to know, if there is anything that you need, you come to me. _Anything_." Rory nodded, squeezing him more tightly.

"Thank you both so much." She whispered, wiping the tears from her eyes, and turning towards her new bedroom, and her new life. Luke and Lorelei turned to the living room, giving Rory the space she would need to adjust to her new room. They hadn't even reached the den when they heard Rory's ear shattering scream.


	4. A boy Named Jess

Luke was at Rory's side in an instant, Lorelai was right behind him. Rory leaned against the closed door with her hand pressed against her heaving chest.

"Are you Ok, Rory?" She nodded, gulping. Luke looked at her with a puzzled look on his face. He patted her arm, and padded back into the den. Lorelai stayed for a moment, and looked deeply into her daughter's eyes.

"You sure you're Ok, Sweets?" Rory nodded and Lorelai squeezed her arm affectionately. She turned down the hall, and Rory slipped quietly into her bedroom. A dark haired boy sat on the bed buttoning his shirt. A pixie like blonde, was pulling up her skirt behind him, and sized up Rory as she clipped back her hair.

"You must be the daughter," She murmured, sticking out her hand, and snapping a wad of pink bubblegum.

"I'm Rory. Hi." Rory smiled, trying her hardest to remember if Lorelai had mentioned a son. The boy smiled and she was warmed all the way down to her toes.

"Jess." The confusion must have shown on her face, because he added, "Luke's nephew." Rory nodded, relief flooding through her. They weren't related! Not that it made much of a difference considering he was obviously with-

"Shane." Panic surged through her at the thought that she'd said her thoughts out loud, but the girl only shrugged in response. "You were looking." Rory's cheeks burned, and she mumbled an apology as she bent to pick up her bag. A worn copy of _Another Side of Bob Dylan_ slipped out, and as Rory bent down to grab it, Jess did as well, their heads bumping.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry. Are you Ok?" Rory asked, biting her lip, and avoiding looking at him in the eye. She felt as though she knew him. Had known him forever. And that frightened her. He laughed, and the rich sound had made the blood in Rory's veins zing. Jess steadied himself and sat back on the bed holding the album.

"Lorelai know you're a Dylan fan?" He asked a smile in voice and on his face, and something inside Rory came alive. "She'll love that."

"If she doesn't, she should. He's the best. I mean, _hello_. It Ain't me Babe? _Classic_. Chimes of Freedom? _Classic_. _Motorpshycho Nightmare_? Classic. You can't go wrong with Dylan." Her eyes were blazing, and Jess couldn't help but notice how pretty she was. Somewhere in the back of his mind there were whispers. About how this was Lorelai's _daughter_. How he'd wanted Shane Carver for _months_. Sitting here talking to this girl who probably knew less about sex than his little _finger_ couldn't possibly benefit him in any way. But then why did he so badly want to stay?

"_Jesss_," Shane's voice blared in his ear. "I've gotta be home in an hour. And you know how my parents are about the _rules_." Her voice had grown breathy as she'd finished the sentence, but instead of feeling the stirrings of longing, Jess only felt annoyed.

"Shane why don't you-" But Rory had already gotten up. She glanced down at him, the smile on her lips the product of her prep school breeding, but Jess's breath still caught.

"Don't break the _rules_ on my account," She was saying to Shane whose painted beauty, Jess noted, was nothing to Rory's. Shane nodded her thanks and propped the window open.

"Guess we won't be able to use _this_ room anymore." Shane replied trying her best to be intimidating.

"Guess not. I'm not going anywhere." As Jess stood and soundlessly slipped out the window he couldn't help but turn back and stare. Rory Gilmore sure knew how to shake up a perfectly ordered life.


End file.
